Saw a forum member's picture used as an advertisement
 

Hi all, i'm not sure what to do about this or even what thread to post this in But, while perusing the internet (I googled koumpounophobia due to it being a Who Want's to Be A Millionaire question) and on the right hand side of the about.com page I saw a "before" picture for a "fat loss pill" that I recognized from one of the progress pictures forums that I was recently looking through.

I can't remember what thread it was on or how to contact the user. I didn't get a chance to get a screen shot as it was a rotating advertisement - has anyone experienced this before or know what to do about something like this?

I've [I]heard[I] about this happening but i've never actually seen it happen - and it makes me afraid to share my own "before" pictures. It's terrible how people's privacy is completely disregarded.

oh no :( I hope someone will chime in with some practical advice. I wonder if this member posted his/her progress photo somewhere else public besides 3FC?

Must be some good before/afters!

IANAL but my understanding is that the owner of the pictures needs to send the user of the pictures a DMCA take down request. If not compliant than one can sue to make it happen.

People steal content like crazy on the net...

It's so scary. And random - literally the first advert on the page and bam! unfortunately her face wasn't blacked out either :(

Well that's a good reason to only show your body in pictures and not your face. It wouldn't be such a big deal if someone stole your body pictures and splashed them all over the internet.

But there's also a possibility that she may have sold them for use. Who knows.

This is the reason I have yet to post any photos here. Sometimes I wonder if I would feel "safer" if this was a paid forum. Does anyone know if that's any more secure? This place is wide open!

If anyone is worried, I think you can do a google image search by placing your JPG's in the search box and see if your image is out there anywhere. Someone told me how to do it once, but I can't remember in detail.

A couple of nights ago, I saw a lot of "new posts" that were all from the same new user -- and the responses didn't make much sense to the conversation, or were just a few random words. The posts came in so quickly after each other, they couldn't have been reading the threads. I thought then... that's a spammer trying to get to a certain level of posts to create havoc here in the forum. So, not everyone here is innocently seeking weight loss support...

ugh!! really?? i'm new around here too but what kind of havoc can they wreak? i notice that we can't have a signature option until we're 20 days or reach a certain number of posts (not sure how many?) but even so, what does having a signature do affect the forums negatively?

BEcause people can put links to other sites and advertising which would take customers away from here. Anyone who's main goal is to promote another site or product wouldn't hang around for 20 days.

Yes, this has happened in the past. It is a shame but it does happen.

This is why I never put my photo, or use my real name on the internet. The photos are up there for ever, and you don't know who has used them, if pervs have got their hands on them or you are being used as an example of god only know what.

I never post before/after pics of my face.

another way to prevent theft is to put a watermark over your picture.

How horrible for people to steal other's photos.

I don't understand why people steal others' photos when stock platforms exist, where you can find photos and videos on various topics or simply get inspired. I watched a digestive system video on one of these platforms, and it inspired me to start paying more attention to my diet. So, why steal when you can access such amazing resources legally and ethically? It's important to respect others' intellectual property and support the creative community by utilizing legitimate sources.

Hello. Thanks to all